Are you fat? Do you like it? What would you do different next time?

I'm pretty well convinced my next bike is gonna be a fat bike. I think that I want to be able to run 4.7's or bigger and I want it light (in relative terms obviously.) 907 frames look pretty sharp, White Industries fat hubs look sweet, X9 crank seems sufficient, drilled rims obviously but is 100mm really necessary or would 80's do it, I can't seem to convince myself that a carbon fork is a good idea so what's out there in aluminum and what do you like for tires? Many questions...

a few thoughts: (excuse the bullet-point format but it's early and i'm foggy)

- I don't think going fatter (Moonlander, etc) is really necessary but nothing on a fatty is. I have the ~4" tires and they seem great for both snow and dirt.

-Most fatties come with a Larry up front and an Endomorph in the back. Ditch the rear tire asap, and for that matter you can probably get rid of the Larry too. The Nate is the shizznit. It's such a massive improvement over the Endomorph.

-Rotational weight is the killer on these bikes so spring for the nicer 120tpi (vs 27tpi) tires. Lighter.

-I have the E.13 ("the hive") cranks and they are a super awesome design.

-I don't know much about the carbon forks (mine is a stock Mukluk 2 with an Aluminum Enabler Fork). I don't think (I could be wrong) that a carbon fork would really change the ride all that much...I roll the tires about 12psi in the summer and 8psi on snow so it's a pretty numb feeling.

-It's freaking FUN. When I want to keep up with my fast friends I still ride a 29er (tallboy) but when I'm riding with my wife and kids or slower friends or I just want a slow mellow fun ride I grab the fatty.

-The hardtail frame shape allows for a full-sized frame bag. get one. man it's so awesome to be able to shove anything in there. I can easily carry a 6 pack and a small bong

-I'm looking forward to extended bikepacking trips with it but haven't had a chance yet.

I found mine on a "killer deal" that just landed in my lap, so that's how i ended up with a stock kit.

1x10 is sweet for sure, but recognize these big daddies require a l o w gear. I hardly ever use my little ring on my "real" bike but I do tend to use the granny on the fatty...especially griding up steep snowy singletrack.

and yeah, I do tend to bring beers on family rides. my kids (8 and 5) LOVE to ride, but part of the experience is stopping to explore and play. They are building this (extensive) fort and campsite hidden off the trail on our local singetrack (test tracks in Durango if you're familiar). So while they work on the fort daddy kicks back and enjoys a few cold ones.

it's a rough life!

Here in SW CO there are a ton of fatties around. It seems between Telluride and Durango that it is a fatbike hotspot here. lots of 'em. Pretty much everyone rides the ~4" tires if they are using the bike for dirt and snow. The only people I know that use Moonie (~5") tires are the strickly-snow riders. There are some dudes doing some serious backcountry adventures on their fatties....high above treeline on nameless goat paths. all on 4" rubber.

dude it's so fun. you're going to shit yourself. the way those big fat tires corner is a good fkn time.

See if you can find a Beargrease fork. Supposedly allegedly, they're pretty close to the carbon Carver in weight and stiffness.

I just got mine, so I'm still learning the ins and outs, but they are super fun. Simplicity is also nice...no shock to worry about, no suspension cartridges, no sag adjustment...just put 9.5psi (yours may vary) in the tires and go!

I had two - a Salsa Mukluk and a Fatback. The Muk had 80's with Nates on it, and the Fatback has 50's with HuDus on it. I sold the Muk this past week. As fun as it was to have two fatties, the FB was a bit more comfortable to ride, and was a lot lighter and nimble. I'm planning on having my buddy build up some Holy Rolling Darryl's with Hope hubs. I might go all silver on this build and have the spokes polished. I see a fair number of 100's out there, but IMO, it's overkill.

BTW - the Endomorph is no more. If you liked them, find one now. Personally, I found it to be the shittiest tire I ever rode, forward or reversed. Nates rock on loose or sandy, and the HuDus are terrific hard pack tires.

My current setup on the FB is a 3x9, but as soon as I have the funds, I'll be going 2x9. I already switched out the XT for SRAM X9.

no interest in winter use, but curious as hell. I have a 29er SS, and a 140mm travel bike, and a town bike, and a touring/cross bike. Why this too?

My curiosity as well. Snow aroune me is great if you get on it the first day after it falls - after that, it becomes post holed, chunked up icy crap. Which I'm sure would be faster/more fun to ride a fat bike on than anything else.

Summer? Absolutely no need, but for playing on the techy trialsy slow speed rock stuff, and just generally screwing around, one looks fun.

Just got a Salsa Beargrease and haven't touched my pimpy Trance X0 since. Riding singletrack in Maine and loving it. It's just plain fun, like if Tigger had a bike it would be a fatty. Looking forward to taking both bikes up to KT soon and riding back to back.

Rolls over roots and rocks and has gobs of traction, running around 7-8psi. Mine weighs around 28#, so not a porker at all. It's AL frame and fork, rides like a damp rigid bike. Reminds of when I started SS riding, it was something different than I'd been used to. The only thing that slows me down is me so that part is no different. It's like a freight train, when those big chubby wheels get moving it carries momentum by the bucket full. Mine rides like a MTB with ridiculous tires.

To OP, friend of mine has a Muk2 w/Carver fork and loves it. He dropped a bunch of weight and the ride improved. I think my fork weighs about the same as the Carver. I agree with above re: clown shoes/moonlander being more than necessary. Holy Rolling Darryl and 4" tires will get it done. Krampus looks way cool but it's not a fat bike. And you can run a 29r wheelset in a fatty to expand the zone of the bike even more.

I was and am still curious about 650b but went with this thinking a 1.5" larger wheel would be an incremental difference over what I have been riding and this would broaden the quiver a lot more. So far that's been true for me. YMMV

no interest in winter use, but curious as hell. I have a 29er SS, and a 140mm travel bike, and a town bike, and a touring/cross bike. Why this too?

You can ride it around the beach, near the water line. Pretty awesome if you're near an interesting stretch of water ( thinking oregon, lots of sea stacks, etc). Most 2.4 tires don't have enough float to do that in my limited experience.

But if I got one, it would be primarily for winter use. If that's not your bag, probably not of much use to you.

I'm getting the sense that 70 or 80mm rims and 4" would be the "regular" setup and having big fatties for beach sand and snow is the way to go. I like the price of the 907 frame, any reason to go Fatback over 907?

Yeah, I'm fat. So is my bike and my dog. I turned in my Man Card years ago, so I don't have to keep up with anyone any more. My bike is heavy and slow, so we are a perfect match. I haven't been on my less heavy, less slow 5 X 5 29er since I got the Moonlander. YMMV.

I’ve been fat for about 5 months and 400 miles. Why? Because it makes me smile. It’s kinda like taking a Cadillac Eldorado on an autocross course. Sure, there a ton of other rides that are better in every conceivable way. Take those douches in Subie STIs and Mitsu Evos. They’re fast as fuck, but they’re uncomfortable as shit, and covered in lame ass stickers. Meanwhile you’re ripping up the same track, but are infinitely more comfortable, and having significantly more fun as you grab a handful of rear brake and sling her fat ass around a corner.

Some background. I had a little cash left over from the tax refund that was burning a hole in my pocket. A quick search of the local classifieds turned up an as-new Pugsley. I swapped out the rear tire for a trimmed Nate, replaced the big ring with a bash, added wide bars/short stem, and managed to grab a few other NOS 9 speed parts on eBay. I never had the intention of building a light bike. In fact, none of my bikes are light. My Mach 5.7 is around 32lbs and my One9 is around 26lbs. The Pugs….. 40lbs. Sure, I could spend the rest of my days dropping dollars and dropping pounds, but for me, that’s not what this bike is about. It's not my daily driver.

I think if you decide what you want your fat bike to be, a build list should be pretty easy. If you’re looking for a lightweight ride, an aluminum frame, drilled rims, 120tpi tires will fit the bill nicely. If you keep it light, I’m sure 1x10 will be adequate. For me, I like the suppleness of a steel frame, the strength of undrilled rims, and the cheapness of 27tpi tires and when you’re pushing 40lbs, there’s always room for a flask.

You guys are getting me even more stoked. My wife thinks I'm nuts, actually only a little more so than usual, but it's ok. She's right

Aluminum frame - Check
907 a no go for 4.7's the way I understand it...? I don't want to lose the winter abilities and not sold on going 190.
1 x 10 - check
80 or 100 rims? I think 80 but the Marge Light at 68 and Fatback at 70 also kinda makes sense.
120 tpi - check
White Bro's carbon or Salsa alu fork?
White Industries hubs - check
e13 crank?

Some of the decisions will most likely be made for me based on what's available.

This is actually pretty simple but I just don't have any time on these things so don't know what I'm gonna want later. I have a feeling there's going to be more than one fat bike in the house. Good thing my wife and I have nearly the same torso length so I can pass the bike around

Are you fat? Unfortunately YES!
Do you like it? NO!
What would you do different next time? EAT LESS!!

Test rode one these days. Fun for sure and plush as someone else put it here! That said we don't have the proper conditions (snow, mud, sand) not at all or not frequently enough to justify that type of puchase. Also I would not want to do tons of uphill on it all the time.

An addition when too much cash is handy but else I still prefer a good light hardtail with volume tubeless tire setup.